sloooow down, there, summer!!!!!!!

It inches away, slips through the fingers, whittles itself away. The cicadas? Crickets? Whatever those warm weather sounds are, the birds singing, the pets stretched their whole lengths on the cool floor, panting. Bliss.

The girls are bored, they say. "Bored" is a bad word, not to be spoken, my mother wouldn't have stood for it. My mother was a woman who made taking the bus to get her chemo into a great adventure, so being bored simply wasn't an option when I was growing up.

But the day stretches before us, and they want to know what we are doing today, as we have no plans. A day with no plans is a glorious thing, full of possibility.

I had to drive Miss Sonja K. to physical therapy this morning, then go pick her up, now we're here...Paul is in Nevada for work, Jonathan is at work, Evelyn is at work, and Miss Suzanne is leaving today to go out west for a few weeks.

So that leaves Sonja K., Charlotte Claire, Camille, and me.

Our van is in the shop, getting inspected and and and. The engine light was a simple fix, the code showed evap, which means the gas cap seal is loose. All that stress for that! But, in order to pass inspection, the bearing, and the something-arm needs replacing, one in the front and one in the back...and the brakes, which Paul and Ben worked on, but two of the calipers were stuck...anyway, anyhow, it's around $1400 to get the 2008 Town and Country back into shape. Ouchers. But it's a nice van, even though the driver's side window doesn't work. It has leather seats, and power doors, and the air conditioning works. So I am not complaining.

And it works out nicely that Paul is out of town, and we can use the truck. Our other minivan needs even more work, ugh.

Anyway, summer is my favorite, and we are enjoying! Saturday, we went to the beach! Emily, Abigail, Ben (and Ashley, Anya, Elise), Margaret and Adrian (and Wulf), Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Charlotte Claire, Camille, and me...and little Lydia. Ben and Adrian grilled hot dogs and sausages, and we played in the waves...I love Lake Ontario.


Anya and Lydia, happy cousins!

I haven't been taking enough pics. Elise on the beach, Wulf on the beach, too cute!

We've been wrapping up our Norway plans, it's exciting. I do love to travel. Emily and Evelyn are taking Sonja K., Jonathan, and Charlotte Claire, leaving next Tuesday, they're going to a youth camp there before the conference. They have an 8 hour layover in Zurich, and Em is taking them on the train into the city. I told them I'd like a bar of Swiss chocolate, please.

Sonja K. is very lucky. After Norway, she's visiting friends in Germany for a few weeks, and going on a little trip to the Netherlands for a weekend. So four different country's passport stamps.

Camille is saying, "So...", which means, "What are we doing today?"

Now, if it were up to me, I'd vote to stay home. The pool, the deck, the dogs...a good book, sunshine...but you know how kids and teenagers are...the grass is always greener, and they want to DO SOMETHING.